Mexican Madness 🇲🇽
Late last night we arrived in Mexico City! 🌆
It's my first time here and I'm surprised by the crowds, colors and clothing. The locals wear beautiful dresses, high heels and flowers in their hair. 👗 👠 💐 There's live music 🎶 in the street corners surrounded by majestic, old stone buildings. The National Palace dates back to Aztec times. The sidewalks are full of stalls selling everything from jewelry 💍 to musical instruments. 🥁
The locals were very friendly and speak English better than I expected. They were eager to tell us about about their local customs and culture. The European influence is apparent in many paintings. 🖌️ 🎨 The high temperature today was 87 degrees, but the humidity was 77 percent. It felt like a sauna after living in Las Vegas. I didn't realize that Mexico City is located on a High Central Plateau. The altitude is 7300 feet which caused us some dizziness and shortness of breath. 😵 
The next day we walked around the corner to "Valparaiso, The National Museum of Culture." This friendly curator dressed in red told us about the history of this majestic museum.
It is located in a Baroque Palace was built in 1769. The museum was originally a residence for wealthy families until it became the National Bank of Mexico in 1884. Now it is a spectacular building!
For a special night out, we took an Uber across town to an outdoor fondue restaurant. There was no air con in our taxi or the restaurant, but it was worth it. Did I mention that it's hot and humid here? We celebrated our 48th wedding anniversary in Mexico City! 🇲🇽 💜
Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel along busy shopping streets and stopped at the theater to buy tickets to see "The Wiz" in Mexico City. I wonder if it will be in Spanish. Stay tuned...
Yes, the musical was translated into Spanish. The local audience showed up in jeans, shorts and fancy dresses. 👗 They bought bags of popcorn and candy 🍬 to munch on during the production. 🎵 It began with a Mother's Day raffle and the audience was more excited about winning prizes🏆 than the actual show. Finally, they settled down with a second bag of popcorn and the play began. Luckily, I knew the story and the actors were enjoying themselves. 😊 It was very hot inside and the audience brought fans to cool themselves. It was a magical evening that put a smile on my face. 🌉
The next morning 🌅 we had breakfast on the sixth floor of the Zocolo Restaurant overlooking the Central Square of Mexico City. The 15th century National Palace is where the President of Mexico currently lives with a view of the tourists below on the square. 😲
We walked over 10,000 steps daily stopping in museums with relics, sculptures and cultural exhibits. A local couple performed a traditional dance at the contemporary art museum below.
I woke up to Mother's Day in the U.S. We walked by the Presidential Square and it was fenced off by police. It just happened to be the weekly Sunday morning cleaning of the Square. 🧹
Next we went to an upscale area of town with more museums. I thought this statue was perfect for Mother's Day today of a pregnant robot.
Next we visited the 'Soumaya Museum' full of historical replicas of famous paintings, statues and inventions in world history. It was like a time machine of art all in one building.
The 'Cougar Art District' nearby completed the afternoon. There were dancers, local musicians and artists in the park. Some people dressed in fancy costumes posing for the passer bys. Leo Trotsky had a home here and it's a colorful area to wander around. 
In the summer of 1968 when the Olympics were in Mexico City, police shot many student demonstraters. Today there was a demonstration with a chanting crowd outside the Royal Palace commemorating it. There were 100 police on our street with shields waiting for something to happen. It was scary!
Next we walked past many crates of used records for sale along the sidewalk on this busy street. Then we sat at an outdoor cafe watching tourists jump off and on the open air tour buses 🚌
Our son Karl recommended that we visit this local used record store with lots of golden oldies. People of all ages were sifting through the LP's from around the world! 🌎
Our last day in this magical city was spent visiting the local artist Frida Kahwal's home transformed into an art gallery. She is famous worldwide for her bold, colorful art about identity and women. The museum was sold out, but they took us around the corner to a side entrance where we bought special tickets. 
We had a cheese fondue in a city park under the trees. It was the perfect ending to a colorful trip in. a city full of art. Hopefully, we can visit again! 😄
We had a cheese fondue in a city park under the trees. It was the perfect ending to a colorful trip in. a city full of art. Hopefully, we can visit again! 😄
So much fun together!
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